In this video from his Network of Grateful Living You Tube site, you can hear Brother David, with his measured and warm Austrian accent, reciting these 'blessing' verses that he has written. Thoughtful, open hearted and themselves blessed with lucidity and insight
Bless what there is,
for being whatever it be,
blessed because it exists.
you need no other reason.
Source of all blessings,
you bless us with breath,
in and out, in and out,
ever renewing us, ever anew,
making us one
Bless what there is,
for being whatever it be,
blessed because it exists.
you need no other reason.
Source of all blessings,
you bless us with breath,
in and out, in and out,
ever renewing us, ever anew,
making us one
with all who breathe the same air.
May this blessing overflow
into our shared gratefulness,
so that with one breath
so that with one breath
I may praise and celebrate life.
Source of all blessings
you bless us with humility
that down to earth quality
that has nothing to do with humiliation
but makes us stand tall
and acknowledge
Source of all blessings
you bless us with humility
that down to earth quality
that has nothing to do with humiliation
but makes us stand tall
and acknowledge
the humus that feeds us
and the stars to which we aspire.
May I learn to practice and to honour in others
this sparkling humility which is the dignity
that we as human beings cannot afford to lose.
Source of all blessings
you bless us with imprecision
with all that is vague, close but not quite
all that leaves room for the more specific,
and the stars to which we aspire.
May I learn to practice and to honour in others
this sparkling humility which is the dignity
that we as human beings cannot afford to lose.
Source of all blessings
you bless us with imprecision
with all that is vague, close but not quite
all that leaves room for the more specific,
the more precise,
and room for the imagination.
May I know when to be exact
and room for the imagination.
May I know when to be exact
and when to move freely
and blessed in the space provided
and blessed in the space provided
by all that is not perfectly defined
giving full scope to my dreams
giving full scope to my dreams
and my creativity.
Source of all blessings
you bless us with memory
that sacred in gathering of the past
that allows us to recognise faces
learn poems by heart
find our way back when we are lost
and bring forth old and new
from its nearly inexhaustible store.
May I know what to forget
and what to retain and treasure
keeping in mind the smallest kindness
shown to me,
and spreading its ripples
for a long time to come.
Source of all blessings
you bless us with change
In the seasons of the year
from snow to greening
flowering, fruiting and harvesting
in the seasons of life
from childhood to youth,
full ripeness and sageing
all living things keep changing.
May I welcome change as a sacred opportunity
to grow and savour in each unrepeatable moment
in its fleetingness
what is beyond change.
Source of all blessings
you bless us with departures
for they are a necessary part of our journey
necessary for the arriving
May I always be ready to take leave
always aware that every arrival
is a prelude to departure
every birth a step towards dying
and may I thus taste the blessing
of being fully present where I am.
May blessings help to sharpen your taste
for the gift of life
in its immeasurable facets
may you grow ever more blessed
ever more able to be blessed
BROTHER DAVID STEINDL-RAST
Edited from his book
99 Blessings, An Invitation to Life,
Published by Image Books, 2013.
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